Pros
One of the few iconic Australian boot makers still in business. Stellar Australian-made products. The provided uniform was quite generous and flexible. Decent "friends and family" discounts past probation.
Cons
The hiring process took over a month, where I was given a bit of a run around between three different stores. When I finally received an offer, I was told that I had to accept on the spot without first reading the contract, otherwise they would have to find someone else. Oddly enough, no contact by HR in this entire process. Before I started, I had originally been promised a rotating roster, yet I was told that this wasn’t the case after the fact. Work/life balance was very poor. My manager at the time was going through a personal crisis, and had not previously not worked in a similar retail environment. I felt they were poorly suited for the role and unprofessional at times in conduct, with blatant favouritism amongst the staff. Training was very poor (relying on a stock-standard manual), and questions were dealt with suspicion rather than an opportunity to teach. The culture in this particular store was non-existant, and quite hostile to enter. There was barely enough stock on hand at any given time. When combined with yearly price hikes for the same product, this lead to constant customer complaints. Operationally, things were a mess and the business seemed like it bit off more than it could chew with multiple international store launches, struggling production times and a new POS roll-out at the same time. I was finally let go within the probation period without any indication or formal write-up prior, right after the manager had returned from a holiday. I later learned that the paperwork was filed before the return, meaning that the choice was made long before, and I was kept on as a convenience. The firing process was especially insulting because: A)It occurred just before Christmas, leaving me without a job, nor the opportunity to find another in retail the same year B)I was forced to stay on another 6 hours until close (9am-9pm shift on Friday), after I had already been told that I had been terminated. This was done so the manager could leave early to go on a date. HR corroborated that this was "improper" procedure, in both hiring and firing but ther was nothing else to be done. I can’t help but feel let down by a company that I held in such high regard. They have truly strayed far from what once made them great.